November 6 Care Group

We read Philippians 3 tonight.  Here are the comments from the sections:
v. 1-3
When we rejoice in the Lord it's a safe place to be.  It focuses our attention on what we have to be thankful for.  We must learn to trust God as being in control in all times.  "Beware of the dogs" in Greek had alliteration for emphasis against the Judaizers who were polluting people's faith by adding works.  God gives us clear warnings against perverting the gospel here and also in Jude and Gal 1.  Perversions of the gospel could happen about multitudes of issues from parenting to politics to schooling.  We must be on guard to not get arrogant and worldly about minor issues and forget the more important things.
v. 4-9
We should never put our hope in this world but only in God.  We can't count on worldly credentials to mean anything in God's kingdom.  The reality of grace when we get saved is such a miracle that we consider our past as "rubbish" when we come to Him.  As we walk with God there's a constant realization of loss, or succession of losses, then grace, then loss, then grace...as we get to know more of who we are in Christ, leaving our "rubbish" behind.  I want this to be my heart cry - "the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."
v. 10-14
Paul had a focus.  He was intent on knowing Jesus - pressing on like a race, all else was rubbish.  This is a good wake-up call because we get distracted so easily by all the stuff of this earth.  We should ask ourselves "Where's the proof that I'm really living by faith?" and "What does running well look like?" - humility, putting others ahead of ourselves, bearing fruit...  Running has a destination, otherwise we meander aimlessly.  We want to hear "Well done, good and faithful servant" someday!  We long for that upward call and are heading towards heaven.  We want to finish well.
v. 20
Our citizenship is in heaven!  We await our Savior!!

October 23 Care Group

We discussed Philippians 2:12-30 this evening.  Here are the themes we talked about:

-Feel the weight of "my beloved" in v. 12 and let God's overwhelming love for you affect your whole life.
-Cooperate with God because God is at work within you.  Have a holy fear of God that moves you to walk and obey Him reverently.
-God's divine order is that He has laid the foundation of our lives (justification, washing, filling with the Spirit), so now we can live a holy life and work hard for His purposes.
-These verses mean so much especially during times of trial.
-Verses 14-18 are challenging to any christian.  They mean that we should never act like entitled children who are always complaining about someone else's actions or motives.
-Grumbling is unbelief and not trusting God.
-Getting sucked into these horrible kinds of patterns (grumbling, complaining) steals our joy and is destructive to our souls.  It's like getting pushed along by a current that makes us realize, all of a sudden, that we have drifted so far from where we want to be with God.
-Verses 19-30 - God gives us great examples of putting others first, laying ourselves down and serving God.

October 9 Care Group

We discussed Philippians 2:1-11.  Tony divided it into 4 sections.  Here's what we talked about:
Part 1:  The Foundation for the Command - verses 1-2
-Paul must have been addressing problems and divisions because he stressed loving unity, encouragement and affection in that church.  Later he mentions 2 women whom he calls upon to work out their differences.
-We must remember all that Christ did for us and be focused on the gospel as a body.  It's the only thing that will get us "on the same page."
-God always lays the foundation for our obedience first before He commands us to do something.
-It's very simple.  We confuse each other when we try to make things more complicated than they really are.
Part 2:  The Command - verses 3-4
-There's no wiggle room for us to excuse our selfishness.
-We all have the boastful pride of life and we lean toward our own interests naturally.
-Jesus is the only One who is really important.
-God is determined to root out pride from our lives, all evil intentions, rivalry, conceit, jealousy, and envy.
-God has plans for us to care for others in big ways and small ways.  He sees all our actions and wants to challenge us to care for others, especially those who don't care for us in return.
-It's encouraging to know that God sees!
-Because of Christ in us we are being used for His glory.  In heaven one day there will be so much rejoicing over "When did I visit You, Lord?" and finding out that He was pleased with things we did for Him in caring for others.
Part 3:  The Humility of Christ - verses 5-8
-In loving our Savior, the most humble servant who ever lived, we are called to live in humility every moment.
-Jesus didn't grasp at equality with God!  We are so small and should live in light of that as well.
-Our selfish desires to grasp heaven and glory is the opposite of what Jesus did.  He gave it all up for us.
-In His washing the disciples' feet Jesus did what others were not willing to do.  He taught us how to live as servants.
-Part 4:  The Exaltation of Christ - verses 9-11
-The cross was a foul and odious way to die.  Jesus chose the worst and most painful death, including all the torture beforehand, because it was part of the plan.  He is our example.  Doesn't this put our minuscule life issues in perspective?
-Now Our Savior is The Most Exalted One!

September 18 Care Group

Thanks to Pat for the great snacks!  We met at the DeVivos' home and continued our study of Philippians.  We read Phil 1: 12-30 in three parts.

Part 1:  verses 12-18 - Guiding Questions - What was Paul so passionate about?  Do you share in it?  Do you face any challenges?

The gospel was Paul's passion, preached in any way, because he longed for God to get glory.
We "adorn" the gospel when we live a life worthy of the gospel, bearing fruit that gives Him glory.
It's tough to compare ourselves to Paul.  We can have the same passion but not have the same kind of ministry.
Matt 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
God has us where we are for a reason so that we can be used for His purpose.
We cannot compare ourselves to each other.  We have each been given a measure of grace.  We need to surrender our hearts to Him, relax and live for Him.  Like the prodigal son, we can just turn  to Him, let Him fill us and bear His fruit through us.
Even in times of suffering God uses us to relate to the broken vulnerability of the lost.  God uses us in all seasons, in all times of trial and blessing.  Trust Him!
God moves when we obey Him and do what He wants.

Part 2:  verses 19-26 - Guiding Questions - What does Paul mean by v. 21?  How can we relate this to our lives?

Since we're still here on earth and not in heaven, it means fruitful labor.  God brings us the work we are to do for Him.
Dying = gain for me
Living = work for others for their good
Paul died to self at a deep level.  He walked in the power of the resurrection and he suffered greatly for Jesus' name.
We should be eager to lose everything for His name's sake.

Part 3:  verses 27-30

Let your life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.  Stand firm in one spirit.  In our suffering we still have grace and the presence of God with us because Jesus took the painful isolation of torment in suffering for us.